Abused
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Ichigo's treatment of Kisshu brings back bad memories.


**Abused**

Kisshu woke up at about five AM from a nightmare, gasping. _Sometimes I wonder if going through the whole military academy was a good idea, _he thought grimly. _I still can't forget what my classmates put me through, and the nightmares are back, most likely because now Ichigo's behavior is starting to mimic that of my classmates'. If it wasn't for the fact I want to save my people, I'd be catching a ship home; things are getting to be too much lately. I guess I'd better tell Pai that I can't come to the attack he planned for today._

Knowing going back to sleep would be pointless, Kisshu got up and got his clothes for the day, then went to take a shower.

He took longer than usual, and by the time he left the bathroom, it was six AM. He teleported to the kitchen, and started making breakfast, hoping chocolate chip raspberry muffins would help him get the nightmare off of his mind.

Soon after they were in the oven, Pai and Taruto came in, and Pai said, "Kisshu, I heard from Deep Blue."

"And?" Kisshu asked.

"He ordered you to come on the attack today," Pai said. "He said something about feeling like you would cancel."

"What is he, a prophet?" Kisshu grumbled as he took the muffins out.

"I assume you WERE going to cancel?" Pai asked sternly.

"Yes," Kisshu replied. "The nightmares are back."

Pai sighed. "I know that's hard for you, and all I'm asking is that you come and at least try to fight with us," he said. "If it gets too hard, tell me, and then you can come back here."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Breakfast is ready."

"Good," Taruto said. "I'm hungry."

"What else is new?" Pai and Kisshu asked together. Taruto grumbled something inaudible and took a muffin. Pai and Kisshu did the same, and the Cyniclons started breakfast.

_**Two hours later: **_"Ready?" Pai asked.

"Where are we going again?" Taruto asked.

"We're attacking the park near the Mews' base," Pai replied.

Kisshu sighed as Taruto nodded, and then the three Cyniclons teleported to the park. Pai had brought his latest Chimera; a large hawk-like monster with steel-edged wings.

The Mews showed up ten minutes later, and Pai ordered the hawk Chimera to attack. It dive-bombed the Mews, and they scattered. "I'll go keep Ichigo busy," Kisshu said. "You two keep attacking the other Mews."

"You're sure?" Pai asked.

"Yeah," Kisshu said.

Pai sighed as Kisshu teleported off, then got an idea, and teleported behind Lettuce. She squeaked and spun, and Pai said quickly, "If Ichigo tries to hurt Kisshu, please stop her." Then he teleported back to Taruto, leaving Lettuce very confused. She looked over at Ichigo, who was occupied with fighting Kisshu, and noticed that Kisshu cringed whenever Ichigo raised her voice. Ichigo didn't seem to notice, though, and Lettuce ran over to their fight, noticing Ichigo was about to slap Kisshu. Lettuce saw Kisshu flinch, and grabbed Ichigo's wrist as she brought her hand back.

"Lettuce?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

"You need to stop doing this," Lettuce said. "Can't you tell you're hurting Kisshu?"

Ichigo looked at Lettuce, then back at Kisshu, who was still standing there. His eyes were closed, and he looked scared. Ichigo looked at Lettuce again, and she said, "You need to stop hurting Kisshu's feelings all the time. It's clear to me that he's pretty sensitive to abuse, and it doesn't matter if we're enemies; you're breaking him down from the inside out. That's just not right, Ichigo, and considering how nice you are to others besides Kisshu, I would think you would know that already."

All the fight went out of Ichigo at that. "You're right," she said softly. "I've been too hooked on the annoying toy comments to realize that I'm hurting Kisshu. I have to make this right; will you go help the others?"

"Yes," Lettuce said, smiling. "I'm glad you finally realized it." She ran to the others, who were dodging the Chimera Anima's attacks, as Ichigo went to Kisshu, and gently put a hand on his cheek. Kisshu slowly opened his eyes, and looked at her warily. "It's okay," Ichigo said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you anymore."

"You're not?" Kisshu asked nervously.

"Nope," Ichigo said. "Lettuce was right; I've already hurt you too much. I'm going to try to make that up to you, okay?"

"Really?" Kisshu asked.

"Really," Ichigo said. "You look like you need a hug."

Kisshu nodded a bit hesitantly, and Ichigo hugged him. He hugged her back, and she tightened her grip slightly, then gently started stroking his hair. She could feel him relaxing, and soon enough his breathing evened out as he fell asleep.

Pai came over as the other Mews destroyed his Chimera, and asked, "Kisshu's asleep?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "Do you want me to stay with him? Lettuce can give the report to Ryou."

"Sure," Pai said. "I need to talk with you anyways." He gently picked up Kisshu, and said, "Grab my shoulder." Ichigo obeyed, and Pai teleported to a very green room. Ichigo let go of his shoulder, and Pai set Kisshu down on the bed, taking his boots off before tucking him in. Then he motioned to Ichigo, who followed him out of the room. He sighed after closing the door, and asked, "So what changed your mind?"

"Lettuce," Ichigo said. "She's right, I did hurt Kisshu too much, and I didn't have any right to do so. And seeing Kisshu's behavior today as opposed to his usual behavior also helped me realize that I needed to change. It's my fault that he got so scared he froze up in the middle of a fight."

"Yes and no," Pai said. "While it's true your behavior was the trigger, it goes back further than that. Kisshu wasn't going to come to today's attack, but Deep Blue made him."

"Why wasn't he going to come?" Ichigo asked.

"Before Kisshu came here, he was being abused by his former classmates at the military academy," Pai said. "They noticed that the teachers really paid attention to Kisshu, and so the students there decided they'd try to get Kisshu to leave so they could have the attention of the teachers. He was tormented on a daily basis, and the teachers could only do so much; everyone in the academy except me and Taruto hated him. They even went as far as to tell him he'd be better off with his parents- meaning he'd be better off dead, since Kisshu's parents died when he was six years old. He graduated the academy two years after starting, at age nine, but the abuse didn't end there. The others in his graduating class would chase him away from the training grounds, and if Kisshu was sparring with someone, anyone watching would try to sabotage Kisshu. It got to the point where anyone not part of the sparring match would be kicked out, unless it was someone from Kisshu's family- me, Taruto, or our parents. Members of the Council would be allowed in, but other than that, no one was allowed to watch the matches. And Kisshu could barely leave the house without being swarmed by fan girls or attacked by his peers. He hated being the best warrior on our planet, because that status brought him nothing but pain. When he was sent here, he thought it would be better- but then your behavior towards him in particular started to remind him of what he went through in the military academy, and he started to break down again. His nightmare problem just came back, too. That's why he wasn't going to come today; he had another nightmare last night, and felt that he wouldn't be able to handle it. I was the one who told Lettuce that she needed to stop you; I knew she would not only do as I asked, but she would be able to get through to you. You might be the only person Kisshu will respond to; he doesn't talk to me or Taruto anymore. He's completely closed up, and for those of us who care about him, it's really hard to see what's happened to him."

Ichigo was pretty horrified by this. "I'm horrible…." she whispered, tears starting to run down her face.

"From what I've seen, that's not entirely true," Pai commented. "You're perfectly nice to everyone except us; it's not too late to start being nice to Kisshu as well as your friends. And besides, your current boyfriend isn't what you think he is."

"I guess that explains why he's been a jerk lately," Ichigo said. "What is he?"

"Deep Blue's human host," Pai said. "If he dies, the battle could end. We could go with Lettuce's desire to cooperate."

"I don't mind doing that- but Blondie will," Ichigo said. "We're going to have to either lock him up or kill him as well."

"Alright," Pai said. "Should we go check on Kisshu?"

Ichigo dried her tears and said, "Yeah."

_**Meanwhile, at Café Mew Mew:**_ The other Mews had given their report, and Ryou was currently screaming at Lettuce, who was strangely calm. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Ryou screamed. "YOU JUST LET THEM TAKE HER? AND WHY DID YOU STOP HER FROM HURTING THAT GREEN-HAIRED FREAK?""

Lettuce, to the others' shock, slapped Ryou across the face. "Just because they're not human doesn't make them freaks," she said icily. "And considering the fact that they don't act very differently from us, I think you're lying about them being evil. The sole reason they came here was to save their people from dying out, yet you say that makes them evil. I think the only evil one is YOU, Ryou. Not the aliens, YOU. You're totally racist, and I can't stand you. Ichigo, Zakuro, and Pudding hate you as well, and frankly, I think Mint is insane for having a crush on you. And in answer to your questions, there is nothing wrong with me, I stopped Ichigo from hurting Kisshu because I felt that it was the right thing to do, and I'd also like to point out that Pai did not 'take' Ichigo- she went of her own free will. I'm planning on offering the Cyniclons a truce, and if you don't like that, you can get hit with my new attack."

"What new attack?" Keiichiro asked before Ryou could respond.

"Would you like a demonstration?" Lettuce asked sweetly.

"Uh… sure…." Keiichiro said.

Lettuce smiled and transformed, then called out, "Lettuce Fan!" A green and silver version of Pai's fan appeared in her hand, and she pointed it at Ryou, who looked skeptical. "Ichigo's the only one to successfully perform a second attack; are you sure about this?" he asked- right before Lettuce shouted, "FUU HYOU SEN!"

A barrage of daggers made from ice pinned Ryou to the wall. A few of them lodged in his skin, and he screamed, "What was THAT for!?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Lettuce said calmly. "Those will melt in about two hours. Looks like my aim is a little better; I managed to not get too many spears stuck into you."

"Uh… isn't that one of Pai's attacks?" Mint asked.

"Very good," Lettuce said. "After I saw him use that attack, I figured that since my attack is made of water, I might be able to replicate Pai's ice attack. Ice is frozen water, after all. I've been training for a while, actually."

The others were speechless.

_**Back with Ichigo, Pai, and Kisshu: **_Ichigo was sitting on the bed with Kisshu, who was still asleep, and she was gently rubbing his ears. Pai was sitting next to the bed, reading some book.

It was another two hours before Kisshu started to wake up, and when Ichigo noticed he was waking up, she asked softly, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu opened his eyes. "What happened?" he asked.

"You fell asleep," Ichigo said gently. "You've been asleep for about four hours. How are you feeling?"

"Better than I was earlier," Kisshu said.

"Good," Ichigo said. "I'm really sorry, Kisshu. I should never have hurt you so much."

"Thanks for apologizing," Kisshu said. "Does this mean you love me?"

"Yes," Ichigo said, smoothing Kisshu's hair back. "I love you, Kisshu."

Kisshu perked up, and sat up, then noticed Pai. "Pai?" he asked.

"I'm here," Pai said. "I told Ichigo everything, by the way."

"Why?" Kisshu asked.

"I felt that she needed to know you've had it hard," Pai said. "And I didn't want her to keep hurting you, even by accident. I think that explanation got the point across, right Ichigo?"

"Yes," Ichigo said. She gently put a hand on Kisshu's cheek, and said, "I'm never going to willingly hurt you again, and if I hurt you by accident, tell me."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Thanks, Koneko-chan."

Ichigo gently rubbed his cheek with her thumb as she said, "Sure." She noticed after a while that Kisshu looked sleepy, and said softly, "Kisshu, maybe you should rest for the rest of the day; you look tired. I'll stay with you, if you want."

"You'll stay?" Kisshu asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said, smiling. "Go back to sleep, I'll be right here."

Kisshu settled back down, and Ichigo tucked the blankets around him, then started gently rubbing his ears again. He sighed happily and fell asleep.

Kisshu slept through the rest of the day and night, and Ichigo climbed in with him overnight. The next morning, she woke up and saw that Kisshu was stirring too. He opened his eyes and saw her, then asked, "You slept with me?"

"Yes, is that okay?" Ichigo asked.

"It's fine," Kisshu said happily.

"You sound happier; are you feeling better?" Ichigo asked.

"I feel a lot better," Kisshu said. "I feel really rested, too."

"That's good; you've been sleeping for about seventeen hours," Ichigo said. "Would you like to get up?"

"Yeah, it's about breakfast time," Kisshu said.

"Okay," Ichigo said. She got up, and straightened her hair and clothes. Kisshu got up too, and came over to her, then took her hand and teleported to the kitchen.

Pai and Taruto were eating cereal, and Pai asked, "Kisshu, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I feel a lot better," Kisshu replied. "Is there any cereal left?"

"Yep, help yourselves," Pai said. "And NO, I didn't touch it."

"Good," Kisshu said, and went to get himself and Ichigo some cereal.

**Horrendous ending, but I wanted to get this out before I go on vacation. I'll be gone from tomorrow till June 19****th****, so just know that I probably won't be getting anything out during that time. I'll still have my computer, but I probably won't be on as much as usual. Thanks for reading, and please review!**


End file.
